Actual value, as in sales prices on things seems to actually be fairly stable as a general rule. People's asking prices though do see to be getting steadily higher in the public spaces, most specifically Facebook... doesn't mean they are selling or that the actual value has therefore changed at all.
To clarify, I have 65 items of vintage Star Wars listed on the Star Wars tracker system. The items are a random selection of MOC, Loose, 12" and Diecast; nothing super high end, but a few things that list out at c£400 and some at £10, so overall a decent mix. I actually keep meaning to remove these all and start again, adding my entire collection in a methodical manner... time, work, family and running all have other ideas...
Anyway... In the circa 12 months I have had them listed they have in total fluctuated no more than £400 at the extreme (oddly in July this year :? ), from the price/value when I first listed them all. I would note that they are currently as a total there is less than £80 difference in value from when they were first listed on the system. Across 65 items that is an increase of only £1.23 per item as an average. I guess if anything that proves two things; its not a real investment opportunity and the values (sales prices) are not truly skyrocketing.
It seems to me (based on the tracker at least) that despite all our concerns about stupid prices, the sale prices are not as silly as we think overall... Sure some things are selling at stupid prices and mugs are getting mugged off buying them at those prices. We will of course all see and be shocked and scared by the astronomic prices some relatively normal things sell for, but we are maybe more accepting or just not noticing the more expected and normal sales, let alone the bargains that are maintaining the stability as the average that the tracker must use to generate the value..
I'm not on commission from Jarod btw! But I would highly recommend the system not only as the tracker (if you have the time! :lol: ) is a pretty awesome tool to log everything you own in a more complex a completist manner than a spreadsheet, but it may also help you sleep at night when worrying about dramatic price increases ruining the hobby.